A Litany for Antinous the Liberator

In the name of Antinous, the Liberator, the Savior, the Human-God, Victorious One, Emperor of Peace.

From all that oppresses us, Antinous, liberate us.

From all that inhibits us, Antinous, liberate us.

From all that constrains us, whether without or within, Antinous, liberate us.

From racism and all racial prejudice, Antinous, liberate us.

From sexism and all misogyny, Antinous, liberate us.

From disrespect for our elders, Antinous, liberate us.

From disrespect for our youth, Antinous, liberate us.

From homophobia and all hatred of sexual minorities, Antinous, liberate us.

From transphobia and all hatred of gender minorities, Antinous, liberate us.

From all contempt for women and girls and for effeminate men, Antinous, liberate us.

From all injustice, Antinous, liberate us.

From sexual violence, Antinous, liberate us.

From bullying and harassment, Antinous, liberate us.

From depression and melancholy, Antinous, liberate us.

From loneliness and despair, Antinous, liberate us.

From doubt of our own gifts, Antinous, liberate us.

From doubt of our ability to act, Antinous, liberate us.

From the wounds of the past, Antinous, liberate us.

From fear of the future, Antinous, liberate us.

From all our addictions and from contempt for the addicted, Antinous, liberate us.

From poverty and the shaming of the poor, Antinous, liberate us.

From hunger and from greed and grasping, Antinous, liberate us.

From all illness of body, mind, or soul, Antinous, liberate us.

From ignorance, especially willful ignorance, Antinous, liberate us.

From the tyranny of the wealthy and their greed, Antinous, liberate us.

From the tyranny of the bigoted and their fear, Antinous, liberate us.

From the tyranny of the lustful and their self-loathing, Antinous, liberate us.

From every kind of hatred and violence, Antinous, liberate us.

[Additional petitions may be inserted here. ]

Guard and defend us, Antinous, as we struggle to free ourselves; guard and defend us, Antinous, as we strive to liberate others; guard and defend us, Antinous, as we await the rising of your star.

Ave, ave, Antinoe!

Haec est unde vita venit!

– composed by Merri-Todd Webster

Naos Antínoou affirms our commitment to stand beside and fight for social and spiritual justice for the queer community, that is, anyone who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, trans-, nonbinary, intersexed, and genderqueer folks.  We believe that Black lives matter and we will stand against White supremacy oppose violence and systematic oppression of people of color. We stand with the immigrant community and condemn islamophobia.  We will stand up for women, stand against violence against women, stand for women’s access to healthcare and reproductive rights. We believe that freedom of religion means all religions and we especially stand with our polytheist and pagan family members, as well as members of other minority religious traditions against the dictates and limitations of rights from the religious elite.

May Anitnous the Lover console all those who are in mourning.  May Antinous the Navigator guide us with wisdom when times seem dark.  May Antinous the Liberator strengthen those who are mobilizing and preparing to do battle.  Naos Antínoou stands with you.

We know that this is a tough time for many people in our various communities.  If you are hurting or need someone to talk to, please reach out to someone. We will get through this together.

List of Suicide Crisis supports in the USA:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1800-273-8255
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Online Chat
Crisis Text Line: Text START to 741-741
The Trevor Project (LBGT+): 1-866-488-7386
Trans Lifeline: (877) 565-8860

The Sacred Nights of Antinous are what we call the days leading up to, and surrounding, the most important festival day in Naos Antinoou’s ritual year: Foundation Day.  These are the days that we observe the death of Antinous in the Nile river, his deification as a god, and the subsequent establishment of his cultus.  This year, Foundation Day was also important to us because we established Naos Antinoou as a new queer Greco-Roman-Egyptian reconstructionist polytheist community.  Now we find ourselves at the end of the Sacred Nights.  We have observed the Festival of Osiris, celebrated the goddesses and female figures surrounding Antinous, walked the Serpent Path and contemplated both the light and the dark, considered fate and making every day important, mourned the death of Antinous, celebrated his becoming a god and triumph over the Underworld, and established again his city and his temple in our hearts.  This last day of the Sacred Nights now marks the official transition of Antinous into his role as Liberator.

Technically, we could say that Antinous assumes his role as Liberator on Foundation Day.  After all, his deification was a liberation from the Underworld, and breaking through of that barrier that exists between the human and the divine.    However, today is the day that we officially recognize this role and welcome it in.  In modern Antinoan mythology, Antinous is seen as having triumphed over death through deification, now ascending into the celestial spheres to do battle for 90 days with the various archons who restrict and oppress us in our lives.  The end of that 90 days will take us to the Festival of Stella Antinoi, or the Star of Antinous, where, having defeated the archons that oppress us, Antinous then transitions into his role as Navigator.

As Liberator, the focus is on warrior energy.  This isn’t necessarily that hyper-masculine, super athletic aggressive warrior energy, although it can mean that too.  One of the central stories to our mythology is the account of the Lion hunt, after all, so that hunter imagery is certainly present.  Athletic games held in honor of Antinous were also common, so that image of the sculpted, muscular athlete is also realistic.  However, it should be noted that at those games, there were also competitions for poetry and art.  Physical prowess was not the only focus.  In the same way, we recognize warriors as those who fight against oppression not just physically, but with words  and actions.  It’s supporting justice for all those who have traditionally been oppressed and excluded.  It’s supporting equality for LGBT individuals.  It’s speaking up in support of Black Lives Matter and standing with people of color against a racist system.  It’s standing in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux when the government wants to put a pipeline through their ancestral lands.  It’s supporting the Trans* community against hateful laws.  It’s supporting the rights of women everywhere to autonomy over their own body and the ability to make their own healthcare choices.  And it’s all the things in our lives that we need to change, to conquer, and seek liberation from, whether those things are psychological and emotional issues, life circumstances, or bad habits we are seeking to change. These are all things that Antinous the Liberator cares about and lends his agency to.

Ave Ave Antinoe Liberator!